Letter: School board is elected to oversee, not serve, superintendent
To the editor,
Now speaking as a private citizen…
At the AAUW Candidate Forum held October 10, the incumbents running for reelection to the Paso Robles School Board showed their true colors: Bully and blame everyone else for their lack of oversight of the runaway spending, accept the current disaster as a mere “accounting problem,” pat themselves on the back for a job well done and disparage their opponents as unworthy to serve when compared to the greatness of themselves. Really? I disagree. So should you.
The board is, was and always will be elected to first serve the public. The board is elected to oversee the Superintendent, not to serve the Superintendent. Two of the current incumbents, Field Gibson and Tim Gearhart stood by and did nothing except complain as usual as the 2010-2012 financial crisis unfolded. The result? Massive cuts, furlough days, much hardship and the tremendous sacrifice of district teachers and employees. Ignoring the expense of the employee’s hardships, Gibson, Gearhart, and Hall approved the 2016-2017 budget while simultaneously approving the superintendent’s job performance. In spite of knowing the district was in trouble, they repeated this process again for the 2017-2018 budget. The outcome? The SLO County Board of Education now has to oversee all of the district’s finances until the district can once again prove they can achieve at least a 3-percent reserve, never mind the nearly 10-percent reserve that has been voraciously obliterated over the past three years. Didn’t the teachers, employees, students and parents just suffer through this? Far too soon to have to undergo so much pain so soon. They shouldn’t have to.
Gibson and Gearhart, along with incumbent Kathleen Hall are asking for your vote so they can continue to prove they can spend more money faster than any other district in the county. Don’t be fooled by them again! They honestly don’t know how to say “no!” to overspending our taxpayer dollars. Please join me in voting for the three new trustees who will restore prudence, balance the budget and hold the superintendent accountable to the budget. Please vote for Stephanie Ulibarri, Lance Gannon and Chris Arend for Paso Robles School Board Trustees.
Respectfully,
Chris Bausch
Private Citizen
Paso Robles
